


Will you look at this?

by redex_writes



Series: AWO Fictober 2020 [4]
Category: A Way Out (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Light Angst, No Romance, it focuses more on Vincent's guilt than his feelings for Leo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:07:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26917117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redex_writes/pseuds/redex_writes
Summary: Fictober prompt 9Vincent realizes too late that he's made a terrible, terrible mistake.
Relationships: Leo Caruso & Vincent Moretti
Series: AWO Fictober 2020 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1941064
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17
Collections: A Way Out Fictober 2020





	Will you look at this?

The muffled roar of the plane's engines reverberate in Vincent’s ears. Flying has never been a problem for him before--he’s done it enough times to be used to the feeling--but now, his stomach is twisted in knots, and it’s not because of the altitude. It’s not because of the adrenaline still lingering in his system after narrowly escaping Harvey’s men. No--it’s because of the way Leo’s looking at him now, eyes tired but sparkling with a fire that Vincent hasn’t seen before. He’s still breathing hard from the chase, but he looks like a weight’s been taken off of his shoulders and thrown into the ocean below them.

“Vincent.” He hesitates for a second, but takes a breath and seems to steel himself. “You’re not gonna hear me say this often, but...thanks.”

The lump in Vincent’s throat feels more like a baseball, but when Leo extends his hand to shake, he takes it all the same.

“You too, Leo.”

Leo nods and leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees. His shoulders are slumped with exhaustion, and for the first time, Vincent sees the toll this has taken on him. He sees the bruises and the scrapes and the scarring wounds from their journey. He sees the grime on his hands, his clothes, his face. And when he opens his eyes and catches Vincent’s gaze, he sees _Leo_ , sees the facade drop, sees the depth of his dark eyes, the softness of his expression.

And in that moment, Vincent’s resolve snaps.

“You know what?”

Leo raises an eyebrow, and Vincent gives him a small smile.

“I think I’m gonna write that letter to Carol.”

Leo’s eyes widen slightly, and he grins. 

“That’s a great idea!”

“It was your idea,” Vincent reminds him. Leo just shrugs, and Vincent leans closer to Emily.

“Hey Emily, can I use a page from your log book?”

She hums in assent, obviously only half paying attention. That’s good--it’ll make the next part a lot easier.

He grabs the log book and uncaps the attached pen with his teeth.

He can feel Leo’s eyes on him as he scribbles down a note, but as soon as he looks up, Leo’s quick to avert his gaze. Vincent nudges him with his knee and gestures to the paper.

“Will you look at this?”

Leo furrows his brow. “You want me to proofread your letter to your wife?”

Vincent shrugs, pushing the paper into Leo’s hands. “I just want to make sure it sounds alright. You said you did this before for Linda, right?”

“Well yeah, but isn’t it kind of...personal?”

“Please?”

He breathes an internal sigh of relief as Leo takes the paper, albeit hesitantly. That’s step one down.

He keeps his gaze trained on Leo’s face as his eyes scan the messy scrawl. Leo’s eyebrows knit together as he reads, and when he looks up at Vincent, there’s a hint of panic in his eyes.

“Vince--”

“Is it good?”

The weight of the question hangs in the air between them. Vincent swears that he’s stopped breathing, and his heart feels like it’s pounding a tattoo on the inside of his ribcage.

After a long moment, Leo slowly nods.

They move as a seamless unit, just as they have been this whole time. It’s an excruciating, nerve-wracking task to get the emergency parachutes from under the seats and put them on slowly enough that they don’t catch Emily’s attention from where she’s distracted in the pilot’s seat. When she does notice, it’s too late: Vincent’s already forced the door open, and in a split second they’re falling through empty sky.

Leo’s parachute doesn’t fail this time, and his terrified shrieks have quieted down by the time they tumble to the ground.

The landing isn’t pleasant, but both of them manage to untangle themselves from the cords and the branches they’ve fallen through as quick as possible. For a moment they stand still, staring at each other.

“What now?”

Vincent looks away, gesturing to the thick jungle around them. 

“Now, we walk.”

Night has fallen by the time he works up the nerve to tell Leo the truth.

They’ve stopped for a short rest, relishing in the coolness that came with the sunset, when Leo breaks the silence.

“How did you know?”

Vincent looks up. Leo isn’t looking at him; his face is turned up to the sky, moonlight gleaming in patches through the leaves onto his face. He turns his head and opens his eyes, fixing Vincent with a quizzical look.

“What?” Is all Vincent manages.

Leo sits up, resting his forearms on his knees. “How did you know she was undercover?”

He knew it was coming, of course. Leo wasn’t just going to read a hastily written half-confession claiming that Emily wasn’t who she said she was and not have questions. It’s exactly why he didn't tell the full story in his note.

Vincent sighs. He doesn’t want to meet Leo’s eyes, doesn’t want to see the hurt, the anger, the betrayal. Even so, he lifts his head and forces himself to make eye contact.

“Leo, there’s...there’s something I need to tell you.”

**Author's Note:**

> This isn't really a shippy piece, and it's shorter than I'm used to, but I really like the idea of Vincent using a note to Carol as a guise to tell Leo the truth--or at least, part of it. I hope you enjoyed, and I hope you're having a good day!


End file.
